TNAG-0895-FCO40-1105-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 61

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KK 243 10 DOWNING STREET

THE PRIME MINISTER

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Seno

30 July 1979

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Нисо and.

Thank you for your letter of 13 July and for your

support for the steps the Government has taken to ensure

that concerted international efforts are made to resettle

those refugees who have already been expelled from Indo-

China, and to tackle the refugee problem at its roots by

pressing Vietnam to reverse its inhumane policies.

This

You may be interested to see the enclosed copy of the

speech which the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary made

at the international meeting at Geneva on 20 July.

includes an announcement of the additional places which

Britain has agreed to make available for resettlement and

of the extra funds we propose to provide over the next

12 months.

I am glad to say that the Geneva meeting resulted in a

massive increase in offers of resettlement places, from

125,000 to 260,000, and in new pledges of additional finan-

cial support for the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees amounting to U.S. $190 million.

It also demonstrated the strength of international con-

cern about all aspects of the refugee problem, including

the plight of Cambodia, and secured undertakings from

Vietnam to suspend for a time the export of boat people,

and to discuss measures for the safe and orderly departure

of those of its citizens who wish to leave.

The world